The move announced in a March 17 acquisition notice scratches the original plan to award the contract without a competition to Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. 

A top U.S. Marine Corps general said he hadn't seen sharp criticisms of land-based missiles in the Pacific by a U.S. Air Force counterpart, but explained the rationale for the concept.

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force have checked a key box on the list of post-contract award activities for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, the company said on April 7. 

The rare public discourse on a normally internal, interservice dispute highlights a fundamental question for the Pentagon: Preserve the U.S. Air Force and Navy's role in long range strike, or expand the options to include the Army and Marine Corps.

The B-52H crew returned to Edwards AFB Base, California, carrying the still-attached ARRW-booster, which included a weight representative payload for the ARRW hypersonic glide vehicle. 

A top U.S. Air Force commander on April 1 said the Army’s plan to deploy ground-launched, hypersonic missiles in the Pacific theater is “stupid,” throwing gasoline on a largely behind-the-scenes turf fight raging inside the Pentagon over budgetary resources for long-range strike programs.

European missile manufacturer MBDA says it will scale back spending on Germany’s Tactical Air Defense System (TLVS) after a government review of ground-based air defenses prioritized a requirement for short-range air defense and upgrades to the country’s existing Patriot systems.

The concept expands upon the objectives of an ongoing experiment by DARPA. The immediate goal of the Gremlins program is demonstrate in-flight recovery of a Dynetics/Kratos X-61A by a Lockheed Martin C-130.